Phantom Game (Ghostwalker 18) by Christine Feehan-Review & Giveaway

PHANTOM GAME
Ghostwalker #18
by Christine Feehan
Release Date March 1, 2022
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, paranormal, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 1, 2022

Jonas “Smoke” Harper has watched his brothers find their perfect mates, never imagining he’d actually meet someone who complements every part of him — even the monster that lurks within. But his instant connection with Camellia goes far beyond wanting the intelligent, beautiful, and lethal woman in his bed. They are two parts of a whole, linked to each other and to a larger network that exists everywhere around them.

Camellia has lived on her own for a long time, relying on her unique psychic abilities to keep her safe. She knows that Jonas was literally made for her, and that makes their addictive connection more dangerous than a thousand enhanced super soldiers. Once the larger threat looming over them is dealt with she’s going to get far away as fast as she can. Life has taught her that the only one she can truly trust is herself.

Jonas can sense Camellia is going to run — and the hunter inside doesn’t want to let go. Not when he knows how good they’ll be together. So he’ll just have to use all of his considerable skills to convince her to stay

••••••

REVIEW:PHANTOM GAME is the eighteenth instalment in Christine Feehan’s contemporary, adult GHOSTWALKERS paranormal, (often erotic) romance series focusing on an elite group (4 teams) of enhanced men and women known as the GhostWalkers (GW). These ‘super soldiers’ were once part of an unauthorized government experiment performed by Dr. Peter Whitney but several soldiers have since, opted into the program on their own. The original GhostWalkers struggled without a female anchor, a female whose genetic and enhanced powers were often in tandem with the men involved. This is Team One member Jonas ‘Smoke’ Harper, and Camellia Mist’s story line. PHANTOM GAME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion, or at the very least book one SHADOW GAME where Team One was first introduced.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Camillia and Jonas) PHANTOM GAME, returns to Team One, Dr. Peter Whitney’s original team of GhostWalkers, a tight-knit group of enhanced soldiers considered a failure by GhostWalker standards. Jonas Harper, along with team members Dr. Kyle Forbes and Jeff Hollister have been sent on a mission by Team Captain Ryland Miller, searching for something or someone threatening the lives of the families secured in the compound for Team One but the further into the forest, the sicker Jeff and Kyle become, and Jonas is forced to go it alone. Pulled by an unknown source, Jonas will come face to face with Camellia Mist, one of the original orphaned girls experimented on by Peter Whitney, a woman who is a genetic match to our story line hero but a woman who was betrayed by someone she considered family and friend. Struggling to accept and trust Jonas Harper, Camellia is reluctant to follow but threats from a different ‘predator’ find Camellia helping the Team, and the man with whom she will fall in love. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Camellia and Jonas, and the potential fall-out as a need for vengeance finds both Teams One and Two, targeted by a group of enhanced soldiers who are risking their lives for a perceived betrayal of one of their own.

Camellia is a powerful GhostWalker whose abilities continue to evolve on a daily basis but Camellia is also of the mindset that death follows her at every corner, and the betrayal by a ‘sister’ pushed Camellia out of their lives. Jonas Harper has yet to discover the source of all of his ‘genetic make-up’ but meeting Camellia reveals a closer connection to the earth and wildlife than he could have ever imagined. As the Team comes under fire, Camellia and Jonas will work together using the power of their mind and nature to save the lives of people at home.

The relationship between Jonas and Camellia is predicated and fated by manipulated genetics, and altered DNA. As members of the original unsanctioned GhostWalker experiments Camellia had been ‘matched’ with our story line hero, a match that could not be denied regardless of forethought or desire. Jonas and Camellia’s abilities would help one another when their lives, and the lives of Team One and Team Two are threatened, and it is these abilities that I am going to address below. Like the previous few instalments PHANTOM GAME does not focus on the sexual aspect of the couple’s connection-the relationship between Jonas and Camellia is more of a love match than a need to overpower and control. Jonas knows Camellia is his destiny but refuses to demand submission of the woman with whom he will fall in love. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate.

For readers and followers of Christine Feehan there is a recent and ongoing familiarity and corresponding comparison between the GHOSTWALKERS and DARK/CARPATHIAN series. The Ghostwalkers are now exhibiting some of the same powers, characteristics and abilities of the author’s Carpathian characters including psychic healing, mind to mind emotional connections and interactions; control of animals and the ability to see through their eyes-Camillia considers the animals under her command a part of her family, as well as controlling the weather, nature and animals; and the application of human characteristic (anthropomorphic) to animals and plants. Camellia’s powers are akin to the Dark series character Syndil and her family line. The GhostWalkers series is treading into familiar territory with many similarities to the Carpathian Series.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including many familiar faces introduced in the earlier instalments: Ryland and Lily Miller; Dr. Kyle Forbes, and Jeff Hollister-as a reminder, Jeff is the Ghostwalker who suffered a stroke in the introductory story line; Kaden and Tansy Montague; Team Two’s Ken and Mari Norton; Jack and Briony Norton, and Logan Maxwell; Raul ‘Gator’ Fontenont as well as the mention of several other Ghostwalkers and couples. The requisite evil has many faces.

PHANTOM GAME is a story of betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, family and friendships, fate and love. PHANTOM GAME covers but a few days in the life of the Ghostwalkers and our story line couple, and as far as the entire series, only advances a couple of years from the introductory story line. The action packed premise is twisted and tragic; the romance is intimate; the characters are edgy, inspiring and intense.

Copy supplied by the Publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 70 published novels, including six series; Dark Series, Ghostwalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, the Sisters of the Heart Series, Shadow Riders  and Torpedo Ink. All of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.

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Penguin/Random House/Berkley publishers is graciously offering a paper copy of PHANTOM GAME to ONE lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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